While most would probably label the P-51D as the archetypal Mustang, I’ve always considered the H model to be the prettiest of North American’s ponies. With its tall tail, aerodynamic improvements, slimmed-down fuselage, wing, belly scoop, and gear doors, the H was the racehorse of the stable, too, 50 mph faster than the D and one of the fastest propeller-driven fighters produced during World War II.
RS Models’ new offering is molded in gray styrene with resin detail parts; surface detail is well done with recessed panel lines. There are no locating pins or sockets except for the horizontal stabilizers and main gear struts and doors — small parts like the rockets and radio masts are simply surface-mounted to the model.
The cockpit tub builds up nicely with satisfactory detail. I just added masking-tape seat belts. (Most deep detail won’t be visible through the one-piece canopy, anyway.) The windshield base is part of the upper cowling; I found it difficult to get a good fit there and at the aft end of the canopy as well. Separating the canopy and posing it open would solve a lot of its fit issues.
Resin parts include two 500-pound bombs, six rockets, rudder pedals, optional main wheels, pitot tube, and structural components for the main gear and tail wheel. On my sample, one rocket was short-molded and two were distorted; I straightened those after dipping them into hot water. The gear parts are small, fragile, and need to be cut very carefully from the casting block. The tail wheel is particularly delicate, with tiny mounting surfaces; I epoxied mine in place for strength. The quality of the resin parts was below the rest of the kit; I used the kit’s optional plastic main wheels but was slightly disappointed with their sharpness.
A fair amount of sanding was required to get all the parts to mate well; the wheel-well insert needed thinning down, and the gun troughs in the upper wings needed deepening to assemble the wing with no gaps. Sprue-nub locations on the main gear struts made cleanup a little pesky, and I needed putty on the fuselage seams.
Most ground photos of operational P-51Hs show the inboard main gear doors closed. But I saw a few with the doors open, so I posed my model likewise to show off the nicely-detailed wheel well.
The decal sheet is jam-packed with markings for five Air National Guard subjects. The blue of the national insignia was too light, so I substituted some from my spares box. But the rest of the markings were excellent, just requiring a little care in handling so they didn’t fold back on themselves. RS Models’ stablemate P-51H, kit No. 92144, has identical parts to this kit’s but features markings for four active-duty U.S. Air Force aircraft instead.
RS has captured the outlines and detail differences of the P-51H. With the small parts involved, and the cutting and filing needed to achieve a close fit, I spent about 30 hours building my Mustang. I would recommend it to more-experienced modelers. Still, I think it’s the prettiest thoroughbred in the barn. Thanks, RS!
Note: A version of this review appeared in the March 2014 FineScale Modeler.